buying pre-built pc need advice

liquidsoap89

I'd second the recommendation to wait a few weeks for the new AMD CPUs. Not only do they sound like a killer value for the performance, but if nothing else buying a Ryzen will also help to promote competition in the PC market, something that has been sorely lacking for ages now.

And like many others have said now, we really need to know what you intend to use this computer for. In your first build I assumed you were going for a maximum performance gaming PC, but then you listed a 1660 GPU, which isn't exactly a budget GPU, but it's fairly close.

If you're building a pretty good PC for general purposes, I'd suggest a Ryzen 5 and you could get away with 16GB of RAM. Then I'd drop that HDD and invest more in a bigger SSD because the performance difference is that significant.
If you're building a gaming PC then the i9 CPU would probably be great, but I'd look at the Ryzen 7 or even the Ryzen 9 as price doesn't seem to be an issue for you. I'd also still recommend dropping the HDD and going with a bigger SSD.

And what kind of monitor will you be using? a 2070 GPU would be wildly overkill if you will be using a standard 24" 1080p monitor. That card's more suited to the ultrawide/144hz 1440p/4K monitors.

totter

you guys are awesome!

Thank you for all the replies. Basically I am a Mac guy being that my profession is a graphic designer. As of now times are tight and I need a new machine. You all know how expensive top of the line Macs are ;p.

Of course one of the main reasons going PC is because of gaming but I will also be doing web/print/motion design with some 3d and video editing. In addition to the specs I have listed above, this is the monitor I would like to get:

Pixio PX329 32 inch 165Hz WQHD 2560 x 1440 Wide Screen Display Professional 1440p Flat 32-inch AMD Radeon FreeSync Certified Gaming Monitor

Ftorek

for the screen - i'd go with IPS panel (not VA) - usually these represent colour better and that may come handy for graphics design...
Also - you're getting nvidia card and this screen is for AMD freesync - so either go for screen with g-sync or replace your graphics card with something from AMD....

Cheers

liquidsoap89

If it's graphic design and gaming you're looking at then I'd either stick with the i9 or look at the Ryzen 9 series for your CPU. Both would be overkill for gaming but would be perfect for any kind of editing. As for the monitor, I'd agree with Ftorek about looking for an IPS monitor; they've typically got better image quality compared to a VA panel.

You should take a look at what monitors NVidia supports with GSync though (which your suggested RTX 2070 GPU supports). They've recently started allowing for FreeSync monitors (the monitor you suggested) to use GSync, though only a limited number "properly" support it. Unlike the CPU, this will largely be overkill for regular desktop use, but is perfect for gaming. It might not even be something you're interested in, in which case the monitor you chose or any IPS monitor would probably be good.

Delvey

Need to read up. Most freesync monitors are now compatible with nvidia

totter

Again, thank you all for your help and input. I have changed a few things but I am getting really close thanks to all of you.

I would prefer to wait for new AMD but I don't think Digital Storm would offer it for a while. (if I had time to build I would go for it). They don't even offer the Ryzen 9 - goes from Ryzen 7 straight to the Threadripper.

monitor:
Acer Predator XB272 bmiprz 27" Full HD (1920x1080) NVIDIA G-SYNC TN Monitor, (Display Port & HDMI Port, 240Hz)

computer specs:
System Configuration:Chassis Model: Digital Storm Lumos
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i9-9900K (5.0 GHz Turbo) (16-Thread) (8-Core) 3.6 GHz
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z390M GAMING EDGE AC (Wi-Fi) (Intel Z390 Chipset) (microATX) (Up to 2x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 3200MHz Digital Storm Performance Series
Power Supply: 850W Corsair RM850x (Fully Modular)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: - No Thanks
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (2TB Samsung 860 EVO)
Storage Set 2: - No Thanks
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 2070 8GB (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan) (Fully Sealed   No Maintenance)
HydroLux Tubing Style: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
HydroLux Fluid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Chassis Fans: Corsair LL Series (RGB Fans) (Software Controlled Effects)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes)
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: Option Not Available
CPU Boost: Stage 1: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.7GHz on All CPU Cores
Graphics Boost: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: USB Drive - Windows 10 Installation (Format and Clean Install)
Virus Protection: Windows Defender Antivirus (Built-in to Windows 10)

DrHarvey12

Hi @totter

I'm in a similar position as you. Pretty much got the money for a new PC and deciding what to go for. However after looking around a bit and getting some advice I have decided to wait a bit.
Two main reasons for this really:

1. With AMD Zen 2 arriving (mostly) on July 7th it makes sense to wait to see how these shape up. Early reports look extremely promising although this is mostly based on marketing stuff from AMD so may not be wholly accurate to real world performance. However reviews will be out in a couple of weeks so in case they are as good as people think it makes sense to me to at least wait and see. One other thing to note is that AMD CPU's did appear to be less affected by the recent Spectre / Meltdown "issues". It appears in the last month or so Intel chips have had more attack vectors discovered that may result in further microcode re-writes that may again impact the performance of Intel CPU's in certain types of applications. Even if you still wanted to go Intel then there are rumoured price cuts for Intel chips on the horizon of 10 - 15% in order for them to try and compete with Zen 2.   

2. AMD will also be releasing new GPU's and Nvidia (announcing, possibly releasing) their SUPER refresh of the 20## series in the next month. It would be worth waiting to see what these new offerings will bring to the table. Maybe AMD's new GPU's will be awesome for productivity work and that may be useful to you. The SUPER Nvidia variants are supposed to be better cards for an even lower price than their current counterparts! If nothing else this may mean that the current Nvidia 20## models see some deep discounts shortly in order to get the older models off the shelves.

I think as others above have said I am very much inclined to agree that waiting even a couple of weeks may see quite a change in the PC landscape when it comes to performance / options on a budget and unless you have to have it right NOW I think waiting is probably worth it. That being said this does assume you aren't about to get hit by some of the new US price tariffs that may come into affect in the near future. I don't know specifics about these but I know several of the big PC builders have written letters to the US government over concerns of what this will do to their buisness. Albeit this might be more for tablets / notebooks than PC parts themselves.

Lastly just noticed that your monitor is fairly low resolution (1920 x 1080) but with a very high refresh rate (240hz). This monitor is really suitable for playing games where reducing input lag is of massive importance. Stuff like CS:GO; maybe Fortnite, Apex Legends to lesser degrees and possibly MOBA's like Dota 2 or LoL. It's the sort of monitor I expect a pro player would get. If you are buying to mostly play these sort of games then that would make sense. Otherwise something that has a higher resolution (like 2560 x 1440) and a still high but not really high refresh rate (120hz - 165hz) might be better for more general gaming.

Delvey

They do not offer Ryzen 9 as it has not been released yet. I would wait, rumour as it that it is quicker than the 9900k, and should be about £150 cheaper, which will force intel to reduce their prices

jassco

Seconded this part in particular. Don't get that 1080p monitor, you need at least 1440p with that system

moonbeam120

@totter You will need 32GB of RAM for your stated use.

Get 2 x 16GB sticks as that will give you the option to upgrade to 64GB later if you feel the need. It doesn't need to be particularly fast RAM either 2666MHz is a good compromise between price and performance.